Unspoken agreements
by Moya-chan
Summary: Impel Down timeline; Smoker grudgingly closes off his sense of justice to save one man he shouldn’t want to save. Smoker/Ace pairing, M for future chapters with sex and violence, swearing included.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Unspoken agreements

**Fandom**: One Piece

**Pairing**: Smoker x Ace

**Rating**: NC-17 / M

**Warnings**: Language, violence and sex. All the good stuff.

**Beta:** devlinnreiko

**Summary**: Impel Down timeline; Smoker grudgingly closes off his sense of justice to save one man he shouldn't want to save.

**Disclaimer**: Characters from 'One Piece' series belong to Eiichiro Oda. I'm just borrowing them for fun so don't sue, I don't have a penny. Original characters belong to me.

**Author's notes**: I've been a fan of SmoAce since the first time I saw them dueling in manga. Things just went downhill from there. This is my first OP fic, so please don't kill me if I don't get world or characters right.

Title might change if I find better one.

Thanks to wonderful devlinnreiko for putting up with my horrible grammar ;)

...

- I -

If there was one thing that anyone could say about Smoker besides his righteous sense on unshaken Justice, it was that he always had been a man of honor.

His second virtue derived from justice. His Lady Justice could wear different disguises even though he had always seen through them all; he could follow her to the end of the Grand Line if she only told him. It was the same with honor that nudged him in the right direction, always visible in his words and actions.

Third virtue would be faithfulness. Smoker never abandoned his duty except for that one single time where he let Straw Hat get away allowing his own actions to haunt him for many days. In any other case Smoker kept himself in check; Justice and honor holding his soul fiercely and stubbornly opening a path that he followed without hesitation. It was what caused Tashigi to follow her captain; it was what made his hand-picked crew willing to throw their lives away if he gave them a single order. It overwhelmed Smoker sometimes, this trust that his people put in him, but nevertheless he led his comrades with the help of respect, not fear, like many pirates did.

Yes, justice, honor and faithfulness.

All of these eventually put him in the position he was in right now. Of course his ship was set and a-not-so pleasant destiny was surely waiting for him at the end of this short journey.

"Sir?" Tashigi's voice reached him from behind causing him to turn away from his spot on the railing of the ship to look at his officer. "We will come to our destination in two hours. Is there anything else you want me to take care of?"

Smoker fell silent for a moment pondering her words. The piece of parchment Tashigi noticed with the official Marine seal on it was crumbled in his grip. She wisely chose not to comment on her observation. The commodore bit on his cigars forcefully till they nearly snapped in between his teeth. He could kill for a glass of scotch, but right now when he was on duty, alcohol was out of bounds.

"No. Just make sure Yamada has all of the supplies he needs when we go in." Smoker apparently thought the short conversation was over as he turned away to look back at the sea, his cigars finally giving away and fading as he bit on them too hard.

"Yes sir." Tashigi nodded, before casting one last worried glance at her leader and leaving the deck to check up on their ship's doctor.

"Bloody fucking pirates." Smoker muttered more to himself then to anyone else as he lit up new pair of cigars. He looked over the crumpled parchment in his hand once again, as if he hadn't memorized the contents already. The paper was patient, subdued to his glaring, ripping and abuse that came from the commodore's hands, but Smoker felt like his own patience was wearing thin.

It wasn't like he didn't expect it. The concept of justice was skewed enough as it was, yet somehow he knew even people like Garp could not turn a blind eye when one of their own was in trouble. It was foolish; it collided with his sense of justice and for god's sake, he really _shouldn't_ agree to help as easily as he did. The thought was somehow repulsive, to know that he too gave in and used connections and power to do what he wanted to and not what his duty dictated him.

But things were what they were and at this point Smoker could not simply walk away. Not when he was involved way too deep in this mess he had created for himself.

Smoker was torn between his sense of duty and his own needs and wants.

And sure as hell, he had _no idea_ how to cope with it.

- II -

_Smoker__ could never really get used to the first rays of morning light that hit his eyes through the cracks of the porthole blinds as new day came down on him. Only after a few moments of figuring out why the hell he hadn't fixed this damn blinds yet he finally turned his attention to the soft, warm body lying next to him in his bed._

_He didn't even remember when they had let go of the 'be-gone-by-morning-otherwise-I'll-kill-you' rule._

_Smoker was a little bit surprised to find that the other was already awake and staring at him with a sleepy gaze, a smirk gracing those kiss-bruised lips._

"_What?" Smoker nearly barked out, but the younger man seemed to ignore the gruff tone in his voice._

"_Nothing." The smile grew wider as the boy's eyes clouded with unmasked mischief. "I was just waiting for you to get up. You know, I will have to go soon and knowing my luck we won't see each other for a bit. I could use a goodbye present from my favorite junsho."_

_Smoker did not reply when the other slid in even closer, so close he could feel warm breath tingling his neck. Soon after the warm body was on top of his own, one sneaky hand stealing its way in between their bodies and low, lower, until hungry groan left Smoker's lips as the talented hand wrapped around him and squeezed lightly._

"_Brat." Smoker growled one hand resting at the nape of man's neck, just under the mess of black hair and pulled him down to bruise those lips even more._

- III -

"Well, that really surprises me."

Smoker tried to look as indifferent as he could. He really tried, but deep inside he felt like snapping, like throwing in the lazy officer's face that he _did_ _not have time for this shit._ Yet he remained calm, only his hole-drilling stare directed at captain Bohn betrayed his real annoyance.

The officer in charge of Impel Down was a small, bulky man with smooth black hair that looked like it could use a washing from time to time and a small moustache that oddly made him look more like a crazy street barber than a Marine.

"It's been quite a while since we got a transfer order. Usually those who get into Impel Down are kept here until World Government decides what to do with them, so you can't really wonder that I doubt a little in truthfulness of these orders."

Smoker nodded towards Tashigi and the young woman reached to the bag she had strapped to her side only to pull out a Den Den Mushi. It sported an obnoxious yellow color and an official Marine logo was painted on its shell. The creature fitted just fine into both of Tashigi's hands; she placed it on the desk in front of the prison warden.

"It's not really my job to question my supervisor's orders." Smoker shrugged in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. "This Den Den Mushi connects directly to Vice Admiral Garp's office. I'm sure you can get answers to your doubts from him in person. I'm just not entirely sure he will be glad about the call."

Bohn stared at the snail that in turn looked at him with sleepy eyes and yawned quite rudely.

"No, I don't think I will." He replied slowly, still looking at the snail phone intensely as if thinking his decision over few times. "I don't think this would be in my personal interest as well, _Commodore_."

Smoker grit his teeth at the sound of his title but chose to say nothing. His patience was _so_ close to snapping when Bohn finally raised himself from his seat.

"Very well." The captain reached to his belt where Smoker and Tashigi could see a big ring with a massive amount of keys. "I shall lead you to sub-prison levels. Follow me, _Commodore_."

Smoker knew very well why this title sounded like obscenity in some Marines' mouths.

- IV -

_Sun was pouring from the sky like liquid fire and Smoker already had a feeling like he could be set to flames if he even dared to go out of the shadow on the narrow spot on his deck__, where he had been reading reports and trying to enjoy fresh air. The air he got instead was steamy, hot, and windless._

_From his spot he could see the whole deck clearly. His men laughing about some crude joke at the other end of the ship most likely. Tashigi sat polishing her swords and hiding from the blazing sun under the shelter that their sails provided. He could also see his doctor sitting cross-legged in the shadowed spot near the galley, and the boy who stubbornly refused to hide and sat with his back to the sun looking like a lazy cat that enjoyed the warm weather._

_That idiot did not even break a sweat._

_Currently the boy was enjoying a play of backgammon with Yamada, the ship's doctor. The old man looked strangely content and concentrated at the same time; He frowned though when the pirate swept the last red checker from the board with a triumphant sound and then grinned like the brat he was._

"_Ah" Yamada opened his beady eyes finally, how exactly did he managed to see with his eyes closed was always beyond Smoker, and his walrus-like eyebrows twitched. "It seems you have beaten me, Portgas-san. Again."_

"_But you are fair challenge, Yamada-san. I just use most of my spare time to play, that's all."_

"_Then maybe you should d__o something productive for a change." Smoker growled to himself, wiping sweat off his brow as he tried to focus on those damn reports._

"_I've heard that, junsho." Ace twisted his back until he could look around and stuck his tongue out at the captain._

"_Yeah, really mature, Portgas."_

_Ace only laughed, turning his attention to the doctor again._

"_Another round,__ maybe?" He started to put his checkers back in, but Yamada stopped him with wave of his hand._

"_I'm sorry, but I have to pass. There are people underneath the deck that still require my attention."_

"_Ah" Ace winced at the scolding tone of doctor's voice and he swore he could feel Smoker's deadly gaze digging through his back. "You said they would be alright."_

"_They will." Yamada nodded, which oddly reminded Ace of those funny bobble-head figurines. "They are new here so naturally they wouldn't know you're not the enemy to this ship. They shouldn't have opened fire that easily. But don't worry, fire burns heal really quickly in _those places_."_

_That being said the elder man got up from his shaded spot and made his way down the deck, leaving a silly grinning Ace behind._

"_I think I pissed off your doctor." He admitted sheepishly as he got up from his place as well and sat in the shadow near Smoker's chair._

"_You sneak onto my ship in the middle of the night and when my men retaliate you set their pants on fire." Smoker snorted some of the smoke up his nose in frustration. "Yeah, I think he has a right to be angry about it."_

"_Hey, I feel bad about it without you rubbing it in!" Ace looked hurt. Smoker didn't take the bait._

"_You could think before you react for a change. What would you do if one day you had no logia to rely on, you stupid brat?" Smoker slammed the reports down on the desk and looked at the puzzled pirate. Ace actually looked thoughtful, which caught the white hunter off guard._

"_I don't know. It's__ been there for so long I don't know what I would do without it." When he looked up from the dusty wooden floor and looked at the Marine he could see that Smoker had listened to him, at least this once. He grinned again and stood up, the serious tone of their conversation forgotten in a blink of an eye. _

"_I think I would have to rely on my knight in shining armor to come and fetch me up, ne?" He slid into Smoker's lap easily, not paying attention to the subtle fact they were not alone._

"_To finish you off__ maybe. Get off me brat, it's too hot for this." That sentence was growled out in menacing tone, but Smoker made no effort to actually push the pirate off him._

"_Yeah. It kinda is." Ace smiled like a cat that just caught his long-stalked prey and leaned in for a kiss. Sparks danced along his back as Smoker's hands ran through his unruly locks._

- V -

There were things in the Grand Line that were not meant to be seen by anyone else, but the Marines. Papers hid in manila-colored envelopes; Secrets passed from one person to another through private Den Den Mushis; Reports that were burned after one reading.

There were also things that even some of the Marines were not suppose to look at.

Impel Down was one of them.

Smoker knew Tashigi was shivering as they finally descended a long and narrow stairway. He didn't even have to look at her. The young woman had never been in the main Marine prison before. Hell, even Smoker had been there only few times and he hated every second of the time wasted in this confined space.

"Tashigi."

"Sir?" She replied in a whisper, as if afraid to speak any louder in this place.

"Stay close and don't let your guard down."

It wasn't about the overwhelming weakness that chilled him to the bones and ate his power away _almost_ to the point of extinguishing it entirely. The prison was located under the sea after all; it was only natural for him to feel its strange power as it tried to seal away his strength. The presence of the variety of dangerous criminals was nothing out of ordinary as well.

It was Tashigi's gasp that made him stop and turn only to see his lieutenant stare into one of the cells intensely.

The girl locked in seastone shackles could not be more than thirteen or fourteen years old. She had dirty, dull hair that once used to be long and probably golden, but its shine was long gone. She wasn't looking at the Marines who had just entered the cells, but kept her empty gaze fixed firmly on the dirty cobblestone floor.

"Why is that child here?"

Smoker bit harder on his cigars. Tashigi had known about absolute justice of course, but she had never met with the victims before. Yamada, who was assisting them at this point only shook his head sadly.

"That _child_, as you put it, had killed twenty of my Marines." Bohn stared at the locked girl with hatred. "Her devil fruit power controls earth. She had buried them alive so deep, that they were long dead by the time we retrieved them."

"It's hard for me to imagine why she would do that with no reason." Tashigi did not step back from the cell, as many probably would have done once they heard the truth.

"She snapped when my men tried to arrest her and her brother, who was a dangerous pirate. Unfortunately, he did not survive the clash."

"So it was an accident?"

"Tashigi-san." Yamada's voice made her wake from her daze and she looked at their doctor quickly. "Accident or not, the World Government can't let her get away with it. She killed Marines and was associated with pirate as well. That is the Government's Absolute Justice."

Understanding seemed to come to her as she only clenched her jaw tight, and nodded curtly to the elder turning her head back from the pitiful sight.

They passed many similar cells on their way to the lower levels of the prison; Smoker could feel the weight of Tashigi's stare on his back, as well as the increasing pressure of the sea. He stayed calm and collected as he could, even though his own logia was fighting his will and trying to make him panic; make him feel the _need_ to run away, up the stairs, to save himself. It was almost like some internal instinct, something he found hard to fight.

It was only when Bohn reached for his keys again to unlock the door to the last level of prison that Smoker forced himself in check, willing his logia to calm down.

"From this point on it gets dangerous." Bohn warned them as he opened the lock. "There are no cells here. Last floor basically goes with its own set rules. Mostly it's a 'eat or be eaten' kind of thing." The warden cackled more to himself then to anyone else.

Smoker pulled out his jitte and stepped into to dark space behind the door.

At first it seemed that the place was pitch black, but soon his eyes grew adjusted to the darkness and he could make out different shades of black and grey. Soon human shapes formed at the edge of his vision. They almost seemed like a ghosts, only almost, because Smoker knew that these ghosts were not created by death. They were something even worse.

Surprisingly, no one neared them close enough to be a threat. He could hear voices talking about him, laughter in the short distance, an unconcealed hiss from one of the prisoners, but yet there was no attack. Maybe it was because they sensed his devil fruit power was free, or maybe it was the faint sound of vibration that his jitte gave out as it responded to the heavy pressure of the sea. Whatever it was Smoker was grateful that so far things went smoothly.

The one he was looking for was sitting in the corner of the spacious room, opposite to the door they had just come through. His arms were wrapped around his knees with his face hidden in between them. In his right hand Smoker could see a familiar dagger.

"You cut off their devil fruit power," Smoker looked grudgingly at the heavy seastone cuffs and thick stone collar around the slender neck, similar to the ones all the prisoners wore. "But you leave them with their weapons?"

"It's a necessity. I'm afraid." Bohn only shrugged his shoulders. "This level of Impel Down is dangerous not only to the Marines."

Smoker only growled out something in response, sending Bohn a deadly glare when the man chuckled again. The white hunter moved making his way through the dark room with slow, but sure steps. Bohn stirred behind Tashigi's back, but she blocked his way with her arm, firmly holding her katana. The sword was sheathed, but carried a dangerous promise either way.

"Please wait here, sir. What my captain has to say to the convict is meant only for their ears." Tashigi was shaking with nervousness inside, but her tone was firm and strict. She could already see, despite the darkness that intervention from Yamada would be necessary.

From the first glance it looked as if the boy was either dead or sleeping. He was curled into himself as if protecting his eyes from the sunlight, but sunlight had no access to Impel Down; that much was obvious. The usually tan skin looked pale and dull from either the lack of light or from the prolonged exposure to seastone. Smoker didn't really know. Inhabitants of the lowest level of Marine induced hell all looked like ghosts anyway.

He nudged the pirate's leg with the tip of his shoe as if testing his reactions, but the boy remained still. Smoker frowned grinding his cigars between teeth and bent to shake the younger man's arm.

It happened in an instant; Dark eyes flashing with fire that could not be there, a menacing growl that left the boy's throat as he lunged forward, blade naked in his hand. Smoker shifted into his logia in less then a second as the edge of the knife slid through the mass of white smoke easily and without any harm to the Commodore. Strong leather clad hands pushed the pirate's arms back, one of them forcefully wrenching the dagger out of the numb hands. The boy's back hit the wall with loud thud and he could not stop the yelp of pain that left his lips.

Smoker paid no attention to the commotion behind his back, knowing full well that Tashigi would stop anyone who dared to disturb him now. The boy in his grip stopped struggling after hitting his back and by pure instinct Smoker knew that there was something wrong with the boy, more then he showed to the outside world.

"Portgas D. Ace," Somehow during the brief struggle he lost his cigars, but did not have the time to light up new pair. "By the order of Marine Vice Admiral Garp and under my jurisdiction, you are to be transferred from the Impel Down prison to Loguetown, where you will await your further punishment for the crimes against the World Government."

Smoker was unsure if any of the words he had just said reached the pirate boy, but there seemed to be some kind of understanding in his eyes. Their usual shine was dimmed, eyesight not focused and sharp like Smoker remembered. The hands that tried to push him away gave up and dropped into his lap like two dead weights. Only when Ace seemed to have lost consciousness, Smoker turned around and nodded at his men. Two of them along with Yamada rushed to Smoker's side, while the Commodore raised himself from his crouching position.

"Keys." He nodded at Tashigi before taking care of his lack of cigars. Bohn just looked at him quizzically.

"The keys to the prisoner's seastone shackles, Captain Bohn." Tashigi reached out to the warden. "Since Portgas D. Ace has become our responsibility now, you won't need them. Please pass them to me."

Only after a moment of silent staring, which Tashigi bravely managed not to turn her eyes away, Bohn dug up another ring full of keys. After a brief struggle he handed her a key with the number 67 burned in it. It was heavy, despite its fairly small size and she only nodded at the officer before handing it over to Smoker. The weight seemed more like a heavy burden and Smoker realized that in his hand he held not only the key, but Ace's whole life.


	2. Chapter 2

Fandom: One Piece

**Fandom**: One Piece

**Pairing**: Smoker x Ace

**Rating**: NC-17 / M

**Warnings**: Language, violence and sex. All the good stuff.

**Summary**: Impel Down timeline; Smoker grudgingly closes off his sense of justice to save one man he shouldn't want to save.

**Disclaimer**: Characters from 'One Piece' series belong to Eiichiro Oda. I'm just borrowing them for fun, so don't sue, I don't have a penny. Original characters belong to me.

**Author's notes**: I'm glad you people enjoyed first part and that you find Smoker and Ace in character, they gave me some serious trouble, heh.

...

- VI -

_There was a pause as Smoker stepped out of the shower in the tiny bathr__oom that his own cabin was next to. The silence seemed unnatural without the stream of mindless blabber the boy usually made; something he had grown used to. Smoker suspected that the quietness was caused by his own naked state and his thoughts were confirmed as he caught the boy's gaze watching him hungrily._

"_That's a nasty scar you have there, junsho," Ace said finally and Smoker could not stop himself from glaring at the boy's image in the mirror. The pirate boy seemed to stare at his back; his eyes trailing the long, irregular scar running down from the left shoulder blade to the low dip in his back. He vaguely thought that the boy should have already noticed it earlier. On the other hand, it was an old and faded scar; not something you could see if you didn't look for it._

"_That's what I get for chasing your kind to the Grandline and back," he snorted, wiping off the steam that had gathered on the surface of the mirror. He put some shaving cream on his face and paid extra care to the movement of his razor. "Sometimes they leave souvenirs that I can remember them by." _

_The last few words were kind of muttered __as he focused on the blade dangerously close to his throat. The moment of well-learned precision was shattered when a pair of strong arms wound around his waist from behind and his hand twitched. The movement was just enough for the edge of the razor to cut the rough skin and Smoker couldn't help but to growl in annoyance._

"_What do you think you're doing, you fucking brat?" He watched their reflections with resignation as a thin crimson trail slid down his throat. That cut was going to sting like a bitch for the rest of the day. Ace was smirking at him from above his shoulder._

"_Nothing…" He paused for a dramatic effect as he used the corner of the towel to wipe the foam from around the cut even if it didn't stop bleeding. Somehow Portgas managed to twist himself around Marine's body, so he was willingly trapped between the older man and the bathroom's sink. "Just giving you something to remember me by." _

_Smoker did not have time to react, and truth to be told he wouldn't even if he could. Ace quickly leaned in and ran his tongue over the cut, leaving it stinging and clean as he lapped on the warm skin. Smoker growled, but didn't push the pirate boy away. His reflection in the mirror stared at him accusingly as he wondered if Portgas would be the death of him one day_.

- VII -

Half and hour after they had set sail and left Impel Down, Smoker was in his cabin, reading the detailed report on Blackbeard's nomination into the ranks of Shichibukai when shouts of his men disturbed the silence.

When Yamada and his men carried Ace to the ship, still in the seastone shackles to keep away captain's Bohn suspicions. The pirate boy was still unconscious as they brough him on board. The commodore dealt with paperwork, not very pleased that he had to leave his name as the proof of the shady dealings Garp had manipulated him into. He understood it, of course; he never was a believer of Absolute Justice, as he had proven many times. Garp was, despite his awkwardness that was a characteristic for the D. family, a man with sharp mind and good instincts. Killing Whitebeard's commander was a declaration of war and if he could give his grandson some time before the execution things were bound to change... one way or another.

After hearing the shouts Smoker didn't even had to think where to go, his feet lead him on their own and he couldn't help but to curse the pirate brat in his mind. Leaving the Marine prison was an easy part; the real problems started when Fire-fist woke up.

Making his way through the crowd of his men, sometime billowing into smoke to save himself trouble, he was in the infirmary in a matter of few moments. The sight that greeted him caught him by surprise for a split second, then his expression hardened and he cursed again, this time out loud.

Tashigi had her katana raised and ready to strike while his men held their guns with unsure hands and casting looks from their captain to Tashigi and back to the infirmary bed. Smoker didn't really know how, but the pirate boy managed to attack one of his crew even with room full of Marines and currently held Yamada as a hostage with a pair of sharp, medical scissors snatched from the nearby tool tray pointed dangerously close to doctor's throat.

Portgas was squeezed into the corner of the infirmary bunk, shielding the space before him with other's body. The boy's eyes were clouded, almost unseeing, exactly like the time Ace assaulted him in the Impel Down cells.

"What's going on here?" He demanded, finally shaking off his thoughts and standing next to Tashigi.

"I don't know, sir. He got aggressive when he woke up." Tashigi shook her head nervously. "I don't think he knows what's going on, sir."

"I..." Yamada tried to speak up even as the tip of the scissors pressed against his skin as Ace's hand twitched at the sound of his voice. "I gave him really strong painkillers before he woke up, that combined with everything else probably makes him unaware of--" He stopped as the pressure of the tool against his skin threatened to break the surface and shed blood.

"Everyone out!" Smoker yelled at his men who, he had to give them credit, barely jumped at the sound of his angry tone and listened to the direct order immediately. "That goes for you too, Tashigi."

"But--"

"Out. Now." Smoker was not a man to repeat himself and she knew it perfectly well; She sheathed her sword and cast one last, unsure glance at her captain she retreated from the infirmary with rest of the crew.

Smoker turned back to the bunk and glared angrily at Ace. He proceeded to slowly light up his cigars, as if it was the most natural course of action when one of your men is being held captive and his life rested on your hands. Smoker scowled at the thought.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you fucking brat?" Smoker was half disappointed at the lack of the fire appearing in front of him out of nowhere and lightening up his cigars. It was an annoying trick that the boy used to do all the time and Smoker had grown used to whenever Portgas was around. "I drag myself across the sea to save your sorry ass from that fucked up place and you repay me by attacking my crew?"

He knew he had to keep talking. While the boy was focused on his voice and movement he had already send few tendrils of his smoke coiling on the infirmary floor and crawling cautiously forward, beyond Ace's field of vision. They moved quickly and efficiently, as was Smoker's way to deal with crisis situations.

"Have they completely knocked out the rest of the brain cells you doubtfully had so far? Because I could swear you weren't so stupid to try such tricks before."

He almost hissed as one of his smoke tendrils collided with something laying haphazardly on the floor; the smoke recoiled against his will and Smoker casted a quick glance on the offending item. Yamada must have tossed the seastone shackles away once he finally wrestled them off. He looked at the angry red marks on Ace's wrist and neck, where the shackles had lingered on his skin for weeks and probably would not disappear for long time. The cuffs had a number painted on them and Smoker decided for a risky move.

"Get a grip on yourself, number sixty-seven."

The number must have triggered something in Ace's mind because the boy hesitated, his hand inching away the dangerous tool away from Yamada's throat for a brief moment. That moment was enough for Smoker to command his logia and the smoke whip leashed towards Portgas's wrist, giving Yamada time to twist away from his grasp.

"Out." Smoker growled while reining in the struggling pirate. Much to his surprise, even without his logia Ace managed to wrestle him back a step. "Don't come back until I call for you."

Yamada added no further comment and Smoker was grateful for that. He could hear the murmur of relived voices from his crew when the doctor left the room and closed the door behind him.

Using more of his logia to wrench the scissors from pirate's hand he realized it was not the physical strength that powered up Ace's movements; it was something more in the shape of despair, stubbornness and unguarded, raw need to fight back whatever was threatening him. Smoker knew that there was no way that in his current condition Ace had any strength to oppose him as an equal, not with the seastone sickness forming in his body.

He grabbed both of Portgas's wrists, using his hands this time and pinned the boy back to the mattress. Ace yelped in pain again, albeit a bit softer then some time ago in the prison's cells.

"Portgas, snap out of it!" Smoker could feel that skin beneath his fingers burning with inner warmth that had nothing to do with pirate's logia. It was the bad kind of heat, the sick and alien heat that Ace did not know. A twisted kind of heat that made him feverish and Ace's body did not even remember what it was like to actually _have a _fever. It made him see and hear things that were not there. Made him remember things he tried to push away.

"Portgas!" Smoker called out to him, hoping to break through the haze of the confused senses like he had done in Impel Down but there was no understanding in boy's eyes. "For fuck's sake, wake up! Ace!"

The sound of his name must have struck a familiar memory because some kind of recognition dawned on those dark eyes and Ace stopped trying to fight off the restless grip on his wrists.

Smoker made a mental note of calling Ace with his given name more often, at least for the next couple of days, if he snaps again.

Fire-fist's breath was labored and he seemed unable to catch a deep breath even though he was struggling to do so. Smoker knew the symptoms of sea sickness very well; he had been through it more then enough times in his younger years to recognize them on spot. He let go of the abused wrists, glad that the boy did not try to assault him again. Ace tried to say something but his voice was croaked and rough from not using it in a long time. Nothing came from between the parted lips and Ace frowned, as if facing an inner dilemma then tried again.

"_Junsho?_"

There was something desperate in the sound of that voice, something that pleaded for confirmation as Ace tiredly closed his eyes.

"Yeah, it's me, you stupid brat." The last insult was whispered out almost affectionately, if Smoker was the type to actually be emotional. "Will you finally calm down and let my doctor take a look at you? Don't think I'm not going to throw you overboard later for scaring the daylights out of Tashigi and Yamada."

Ah, there it was. A ghost of a smirk appeared on pirate's lips as he slipped back into the comfortable world of unconsciousness.

- VIII -

_He watched the pirate boy spar with one of his men, a somehow playful brawl with rest of his crew cheering no side in particular. It was a quiet moment just before sunset and __the sky was slowly setting into orange and red hues as the sun shifted towards the horizon. His work was done for a day; the reports had been read and signed, newspaper articles relevant to Marines were checked, and a new list of bounties was updated. Smoker wasn't very pleased to find that Portgas's bounty had been raised again, though he was sure the boy would be ecstatic once he learned about the fact._

_Smoker was leaning against the railing on the upper deck, having set a new course for his ship and now he watched the fight with a mildly amused expression._

_At some point of the evening Tarou, one of Smoker's strongest men and a skilled carpenter, had challenged Ace into a duel. Portgas hadn't even tried to use his logia, knowing fully well that the Commodore would probably skin him alive if he accidentally set fire to his ship or burned any of his men... again. _

_But it seemed that Ace didn't need his logia to easily overpower his opponent. Where he lacked physical strength he made up with agility and flexibility, easily avoiding the hard blows and dodging any incoming attacks. He swiftly moved away from next punch and twisted around until he was behind the carpenter, using basic gravity to push on Tarou's back and making the man twice his size stumble and nearly fall on his face like a graceless log. The crowd around them boomed with laughter as Ace crouched almost like a feline ready to pounce again and smirked at his victory._

_There was a certain amount of foolish bravery in the boy, but at the same time he had at least enough brains not to leap into the battles he could not win. Also, unlike most of the scum that called themselves pirates, he knew how to approach his targets with proper strategies. _

_Why exactly Whitebeard had given him such a high rank was still beyond him, but Smoker could admit that no matter how much he hated pirates, he could not deny one simple truth._

_Edward Newgate was not a stupid man. _

_If he was he would have never lasted long enough in this era. To survive and to rule over the New World he had to know where his loyalties were and who he could trust, if he was actually capable of trusting anyone other then himself. If he had made Portgas one of his most trusted men then Smoker had no reason to believe the boy would ever give his captain a reason to doubt him. That is, until the time will come where Newgate will encounter a small ship with crew of only few people and insane, rubber-made captain..._

_Ace glanced around quickly, finally spotting the grey-haired man on the upper deck and flashed him a smile. Smoker watched as the carpenter used that exact moment to grab surprised boy in the armlock, smirking as Ace flailed his arms in futile attempt to free himself. Another wave of laughter shook the deck as Tarou grinned in triumph. _

"_Oi, captain!" He grinned as he called towards Smoker, still not letting the struggling pirate free. "Can you stop distracting my opponent?"_

_His men laughed as he lazily blew out a small cloud of smoke and grinned back._

- IX -

A day and a half after they had left Impel Down prison Ace was still unconscious.

As Yamada had reported to him, the boy was shifting in and out of a state similar to consciousness, but he was not exactly awake. The elderly doctor had kept all the sharp objects out of the pirate's reach just in case, but so far nothing was indicating that he would wake up soon.

Smoker was a little unsettled by this news, but his rationality knew better. It took time to get over the seastone sickness and there was no definite cure for it. He had been through that particular illness enough times during his years as a Devil Fruit user and he knew the side effects were nasty enough to keep even the strongest of people chained to bed and weak as a baby.

It was back then when he was stationed in Impel Down as a rookie; all of the Marine newcomers had to stay in that prison at some point, to learn what Absolute Justice meant. For Smoker, whose logia was still fresh and unsettled, the whole experience was more about learning how not to throw up on the high-ranked officers as they came to inspect his work while the sea pressure made him nauseous. He also had one week of his life ripped from his mind and completely blank as the fever and sickness made him unable to be stationed in Impel Down any longer. Yamada had later explained to him that zoan and logia type Devil Fruit users suffered from seastone sickness more then paramecia, even though the basics of that knowledge was yet to be researched.

The state his body was in did not help him to get better fast.

During the previous day Yamada, after drinking enough green tea to calm himself after the pirate's assault, finally had a chance to look at the full extent of Portgas's injuries. Smoker was there, watching and waiting.

Both Smoker and Yamada knew the laws that reigned in Impel Down. Every man for himself and everyone looked only after their own backs. Apart from the colorful set of bruises on most part of his body there were some more severe injuries that the boy seemed to acquire during the weeks of imprisonment. Even before the examination Smoker knew he had broken ribs; he could see it by the way Ace moved when he was still conscious and also by the way he cried out when his back hit harder surfaces. Upon a closer look he could see three thin irregular scars running down from the bridge of his nose and sidelong his right cheek He made a mental note to ask about them later.

When Yamada and his assistant moved the brat onto his side Smoker could see something that actually made him frown. He did not care about Ace's damn tattoo, quite the opposite, but he knew how much stupid pride the boy held in that mark. Right then it was impossible to make out what it used to look like. It now sported a long and fresh gash running over it, destroying Whitebeard's wide grin upon Portgas's back. Yamada cast a worried look at his Commodore. He too knew the importance of the tattoo. The wound was not healing well either, so the doctor proceeded with cleaning it immediately.

They discovered many smaller cuts and bumps later on, most of them minor and Yamada paid them only minimum attention they required. The examination stopped at Ace's arms and hands and Yamada scowled when they found dislocated joints and, much to his and Smoker's surprise, burn scars.

- X -

_If there was anything at all__ that Smoker learned from his poor excuse of a father, it was to never, under any circumstances, waste good alcohol._

_Sitting in the comfortable chair in his cabin he raised the glass to his eyes, rays of fading sunlight shining through the deep amber of the best brand of East Blue whiskey. Thinking back to his younger years Smoker could recall his father doing the exact gesture in his own office, on those rare occasions that he was actually allowed inside. His father, the great Marine general, used to smile when light shone gently through the cut glass._

"_Son," he used to say. "There are plenty of things that can let you down in life. Women might leave you, crews may betray you, and ships may sink. But if a man can have one constant in his life, it would be good liquor."_

_Smoker sighed at the memory, tipped his glass and took a sip, allowing the taste to fill his mouth, the alcohol as bitter as the memories that haunted him that night._

"_You look like you've just been promoted. Why the long face, junsho?"_

_Smoker twirled his glass as he looked at the pirate boy who had just arrived into the cabin after plundering through his ship's galley, no doubt. He did not reply, settling for snorting in annoyance and carefully placing the glass on his desk._

_He didn't notice a pair of arms reaching around him from behind his chair, but didn't jump in surprise as they winded around his neck and chest and Ace placed his lips in the juncture of his shoulder and neck. The boy must have taken a shower recently because his hair pressed against his cheek was soft and smelled clean with the mixture of soap and herbs that Yamada made for all of his crew._

_Maybe it was because of the alcohol, tiredness, and bad memories, but the world around Smoker gradually turned softer then it used to. He turned his head and started to kiss the pirate slowly, opening him up to his touch. Ace let out a quiet whimper as he kissed back and with no real fight for dominance allowed the white hunter to explore his mouth._

_A f__ew moments later they were already on Smoker's bed and the Marine was kissing Ace into oblivion. Smoker vaguely recalled that he did not cork back that whiskey bottle and it would loose some of its taste if let in open air for too long. As he pressed the willing pirate boy into his mattress and those slim legs hooked around his waist Smoker decided he might just let it go this one time._

- IX -

Five days after leaving Impel Down Smoker took the night watch shift.

It somehow became a habit for Smoker to do that when he could not sleep. Usually there was no particular reason; he wasn't tired after the day's work and took over responsibilities of their navigator, offering his men a chance to catch some extra sleep. Those were quiet and lazy nights, but Smoker could not afford when he was still on duty and lately it felt like he was on duty twenty-four seven.

The night wind was icy and fierce, a clear sign they were sailing close to a winter island. He double-checked their coordinates and locked the steering wheel on their course, heading slowly to Loguetown. The Marine had no real idea what was going to happen next, the clues given to him by Garp went only to the point where he actually got his grandson away from that damn prison. What did the Vice-Admiral expect him to do afterwards?

Leaning over the railing he looked down on the lower deck. It usually was lively and full of people, but now it was ghastly empty. Smoke curled lazily around him as he inhaled his cigars.

He already had set the slowest speed possible making their journey longer, but eventually they would reach Loguetown's port and then what? Was he supposed to hand over Portgas to other Marines? Technically speaking he was still in charge of the city, which made things even more complicated.

Should he wait then? Smoker was not a patient man and simply hoping for a change was not in his nature. He _made_ things happen, not waiting passively and hoping for the best. Should he allow Portgas to run away like he had done a couple of times during their shared past?

His cigar flicked and the fire went dead, subdued by the icy wind. Smoker simply sighed and patted his pockets looking for a lighter.

"You know, usually I would flick my fingers and they would be lit in a second. Sorry, but I don't think I can provided that service now, junsho."

Smoker looked around to stare at the entrance to the lower levels, already knowing who had disturbed his silent night.

Ace was leaning on the doorframe supporting his weight as his knees were dangerously close to giving up. He had the infirmary's blanket draped over his shoulders in haphazard manner. Smoker waited patiently until he caught his breath, weak after weeks of illness eating away his strength and eventually came to stand next to him, grabbing the railway to stop his world from spinning.

"What are you doing up, brat? If you collapse here I'm not dragging your sorry ass back to bed."

Ace smirked, or at least it was a ghost of his usual smirk and Smoker frowned.

"And here I thought you actually like having me in your bed." Ace gasped as he leaned over the railway as his ribs protested at the change of position. "But I suppose I'm not in my most attractive state right now."

It was so casual, so normal between them that Smoker almost forgot that something was wrong. Almost.

"I just couldn't sleep." Ace started talking again before Smoker actually had a chance to say anything. "And I needed some fresh air. Gods know I could use some."

The boy actually chuckled at the thought; it was easier to turn everything into joke than actually admit that there were more things wrong with his body and mind than he could handle right then.

"You're shaking."

Ace raised his brows in surprise, quickly glancing at his own arms and hands to notice their trembling.

"Oi" He said sounding surprised. "I thought I got used to feeling cold by now. You know junsho it actually is weird, feeling cold after years of not having to worry about it."

Smoker did not reply having found his lighter finally and flicking the flame to light up his cigar once again.

"Back into the world of the living, huh?"

It was not a question more of a whispered statement and Smoker glanced at the pirate boy who was looking straight ahead at the waves. The grayish tinge still didn't leave his skin and dark circles under his eyes were proof of his lack of real rest. Angry red and purple bruises marked him all over. Smoker could not stop staring at the dark circles of damaged skin, where seastone rested for weeks. The kid looked older somehow, and was thinner than Smoker used to remember. There was some unreadable emotion in his eyes, but at least his hands stopped shaking after a while.

"I think I could use a shower." Ace murmured finally, looking back at the Marine. "And then you could feed me, I guess?"

Smoker let out an amused snort. Some things never changed.


	3. Chapter 3

Fandom: One Piece

**Fandom**: One Piece

**Pairing**: Smoker x Ace

**Rating**: NC-17 / M

**Warnings**: Language, violence and sex. All the good stuff.

**Summary**: Impel Down timeline; Smoker grudgingly closes off his sense of justice to save one man he shouldn't want to save.

**Disclaimer**: Characters from 'One Piece' series belong to Eiichiro Oda. I'm just borrowing them for fun, so don't sue, I don't have a penny. Original characters belong to me.

**Author's notes**: Uni started and it's hard :x I have no idea when the next part will come out so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I think about three more chapters might follow, though I am not sure, my fics sometimes get out of control /

We finally learn some more about what happened in Impel Down. And yes, I threw in some fluff. It isn't my style if there isn't any. Hope it's not enough to make the whole thing too OOC.

On the side note, the picture I did of Ace sleeping was suppose to be the scene from this chapter but I moved it to next one. Plotbunnies took over :x

And I think I am loosing my touch. Writing porn never takes me that long /

...

- XII -

_There was no sound._

_The fact that he could not see a single thing did not surprise him. The black hood that was thrown over his head shortly before the Marine ship made it to it's dock was not transparent at all and blocking out fresh air. It seemed like hours now, the scratchy material suffocating him almost as hard as the heavy stone collar clasped tightly on his neck._

_But the absence of sound made him nervous. After the brief struggle with two nameless Marines that dragged him out of the vessel's brig and after his world turned black, they lead him through corridors that smelled of dampness and dust; After that down the stairs on which he nearly tripped and the fucking Marines almost ripped his arms out of it's sockets._

_He was thrown unceremoniously on the floor and the chains of his seastone cuffs were secured on some kind of lock in the stone underneath him. He didn't have much strength to escape to begin with, not with collar and shackles burning his skin for days and draining his power, making him feel like his mind was wrapped in countless layers of thick cotton. He couldn't even remember when was the last time that seastone touched him for so long._

_A creak of door opening caught his attention, the only sound amongst the blackness and silence that almost rang painfully in his ears. He didn't move an inch, even though his eyes followed the noise as someone stepped into the room. The steps were heavy, slow and calculated. Only one person, heavy one, assuming from the way he or she walked. Unless there were others that stayed completely immobile._

_More steps, some shuffling of paper, a gentle sound of glass tinkling when drink was poured. He still didn't even twitch, kneeling at the person's feet, chained to the floor like a stray dog. _

_The hood was suddenly pulled from his head and a wave of light hurt his eyes. Against his will it made him grunt in surprise and pain and he squeezed his eyes until a tiny, colorful reflections showed beneath his eyelids. It took him a minute or two to start blinking furiously, fighting the discomfort so he could see anything in the blinding white._

_The first thing he noticed when he could see without squinting was a man standing in front of large, wooden desk. His eyes automatically fell on the captain's insignia on the Marine's uniform. Second thing he noticed was that the room was illuminated not by strong sunlight but by a couple of lamps and the sky outside the single window was actually gaining red and orange hues, suggesting the time of sunset._

"_Ah, mister Portgas." The deep, scratchy tone made him snap back his attention back to the Marine. He was a large man with crazy moustache and even more insane look in his eyes. "We've been waiting for you, as you can probably imagine."_

"_Sorry," Ace rasped back, voice straining from days of practically no use in the brig. "But the gentlemen who helped me to this destination were not responding to my pleas for faster travel."_

"_So I noticed." The man apparently was not taken aback by his reply. "My name is captain Bohn and I am an officer in charge of Impel Down prison, which will serve as your accommodation for the time being."_

_Ace tried to smooth his tangled hair back out of the habit but the chains he was in were too short and merely rattled pitifully when he shook them._

"_Ah yes," Bohn casted a look on the chains and locks while leaning against his desk and taking a sip from a glass that apparently held some kind of whisky, because the smell brought some memories back to Ace. Before instinctively licking his chapped lips he didn't even notice how thirsty he was. "Impel Down is a prison of highest security level in the whole Grand Line and never even once we had a case of someone breaking out. I'm afraid seastone is a must for you, mister Portgas."_

_Ace eyed the cuffs critically. They were heavy, tight and cold, sucking out his power and making his skin ache and burn on the contact. He could already see that skin on his wrist was scabbed and angry red, not bleeding yet but probably would soon._

"_Well, I can't exactly say no to such high class treatment, can I?"_

_Bohn only shook his head, finishing his drink and setting the empty glass on his desk, in a spot where Ace could clearly see it, before turning around and moving to the window. From the angle the boy was in he could not really see the outside word, but he could see the reddening skies._

"_Impel Down," Bohn started while he gazed out of the window, his back turned on the prisoner. "Is a jewel in the crown of World Government, mister Portgas. A perfect institution set up in to keep the kinds like you locked down, away from normal citizens. Pirates are a filth of this world, which we will get rid off, so help me gods."_

_Someone opened the door again and captain turned back slightly to look at the rugged pirate with the corner of his eye._

"_Tell me, mister Portgas," Bohn's voice lost it's dark note. "Do you enjoy sunsets?"_

_The question caught the younger man a bit off guard but he didn't show it._

"_As a matter of fact I do."_

"_Good," Bohn nodded thoughtfully at the two Marine guards that entered the room a moment before and now proceeded with removing the lock that kept Ace chained to the floor, while twisting his arms again and getting ready to drag him away once more. The back hood was back, cutting off his sight. "Because I am going to make sure you will never see sun again."_

- XIII -

The sounds that could be heard on the ship were well known to Smoker; There was the gentle rocking of waves against the sides of the ship, wind singing in between that sails and now also a faint hum of running shower.

He had observed him at first; Blamed the action on the common sense that the boy might collapse suddenly, having just woken from seastone coma. Ace seemed fine though, shaken and visibly exhausted, but otherwise steady on his feet. He watched as the pirate discarded his clothes and unwound the bandages from his chest and arms and stepped into the shower. Even though Ace tried to conceal it, a sharp hiss of pain escaped him when steaming water hit his injured back and ran over the open wound.

At any other time Smoker might have been annoyed at the needless waste of hot water from the ship's already poor supply, but he chose to stay silent this time, watching as the boy rested his forehead against cool wall and stayed like that for good couple of minutes.

By the time Ace was done and left the bathroom, letting out the gentle waves of steam Smoker was already sitting at the edge of his bed for a long time, eyes focused on polishing his jitte; Anything that kept him occupied was good. The boy was wearing only the pair of Smoker's own plain boxers – obviously too large for his too lanky frame – and a towel draped loosely around his neck. With his hair dripping wet and clinging to his face and with colorful set of bruises that covered his body even Ace had to admit he looked fucking miserable.

Smoker put away the weapon carefully, placing it by the nearby wall and instead he pulled out the medical kit he had retrieved from the infirmary earlier, when the boy was still in the shower.

"Come here."

The command was simple enough and Ace listened, nearing the bed and allowing the Marine to turn him around.

The wound of Ace's back was deep and nasty and Smoker couldn't help but to frown at the sight. The edges of it were not clean like from a knife cut, but torn and scarred. It was not healing well, obviously infected during boy's stay in containment and it refused to close, even if it didn't bleed that much anymore. Smoker made a mental note to have Yamada take a closer look at it in the morning.

Ace's hands were in a bit better state, the burned skin on them healing and closing up, but they ran nearly up to his elbows. Smoker hadn't seen something so grotesque in a very long time – a fire logia user with burn marks.

"How did this happen?" Smoker took his time with wrapping up the boy's chest in fresh bandages; There was really no need to wake Yamada up just for this one purpose when he was more then capable of doing it himself.

"Not now." Ace said nothing more while the examination and patching continued, remaining silent even when Smoker tended to his arms. He was exhausted and sleepy, the hot shower nearly lulling him to sleep with warmth and steady sound of falling water.

Smoker did not reply, finishing his job and making sure the bandages weren't wrapped too tightly over the broken ribs. Ace waited for him to put away the kit, before reaching out and combing his fingers through the gray hair. Smoker just looked at him, staying still for a moment, before raising his own hand in response and brushing it over pirate's less bruised side, knuckles tickling the skin lightly. His other palm settled over the small of Ace's back, slowly tugging him closer, until the boy had no other choice but to rest his knees at the edge of the bed and sit in the other man's lap. Aching, bony fingers of the pirate rested heavily at the back of Smoker's neck as Ace pressed their foreheads together and let out a tired sigh.

"_It wasn't suppose to exist."_ Smoker thought as he started to kiss a trail along Ace's jaw. This whole... _romance_ thing between them was never suppose to be real. The were opposites in every single meaning of the word and he was a Marine, he ought to know better then indulge himself in such way, to allow the pirate to get such strong hold of him. When and how exactly things between them went from just sex to more serious affair, Smoker did not know. It just happened somewhere over the years since he first met the boy. Portgas brought trouble with him wherever he went and change tagged along, ready to introduce chaos to Smoker's otherwise steady worldview.

Smoker's hand went up to tangle in the wet, jet-black hair and tugged slightly, to make the boy arch his neck more. It allowed the commodore to suck at the sensitive spot below his ear, making Ace's breath hitch and causing his hands to flex at other man's shoulders.

The Marine's other hand kneaded at his hip, open palm pressing against the bruised skin enough for Ace to feel it but not enough to hurt. The pirate's skin underneath his fingers was warm, but Smoker knew it was not the fire logia that he felt, just a reminiscence of shower heat. It was almost enough to fool him. _Almost._

He brushed his lips over Ace's own, the boy's mouth opening to him willingly and he claimed the kiss, slowly, taking his time. It was far too long since they've been together like this, too many nights during which he kept wondering if Portgas is even still alive and too many weeks without any trace of the familiar warmth. Ace sighed into the kiss, relaxing his tense muscles and winding his arms loosely around his lover's neck. Smoker's hands pressed lightly over his hack, mindful of the injury.

Ace fought for the dominance in the kiss but it was only half-hearted as at the time he was content with other man claiming his mouth. It was too long for him as well, weeks without real human contact and he allowed Smoker to explore him, to massage his tongue with his own, to take him all. Anything, as long as he could feel something else then the bone-chilling void inside of him, where his logia used to rest.

A small, content sound escaped Ace's lips and his grip on the Marine grew more slacked, relaxing his frame against the other's solid body. Smoker broke the kiss with last, almost playful lick at his lips and tugged the non-resisting body along with him as he moved more towards the center of the bed, to rest on it fully. Mindful of the injuries, he let the boy settle next to him, Ace's neck tucked underneath Marine's chin.

"Hmm?" The boy muttered sleepily at the rearrangement of their position.

"If you're about to fall asleep on me, I might as well get myself comfortable." Smoker's voice was gruff but held no malice and Ace smiled once his brain, currently in shut-down mode, proceeded the thought. The evening was chilly, so Ace groped blindly around the sheets, finally finding the blankets that would do just fine to protect them both from the cold.

- XIV -

_He stopped counting somewhere after fifteenth punch, after the next blow filled his mouth with blood from his own tongue he had bitten on by accident._

_Fighting back didn't even make much sense anymore, not with collar on short chain binding him to the wall, not with cuffs that limited his movement, not with two huge Marines holding down his arms while the third one proceeded with what he called 'interrogation'._

_The next punch hit his temple fair and square and the force of it made his head snap back painfully against the wall behind, black spots dancing before his vision and sharp sting of pain shooting down his spine. The third Marine grabbed his jaw to turn his head towards himself._

"_You're done already?" The mocking tone and smirk seemed to express his satisfaction, almost as much as blood on his knuckles. "Guess the famous Fire Fist isn't that tough after all."_

_All he got in reply was a bloody spit in his eye._

"_Son of bitch!" The Marine hissed as he took back a step and wiped his face, listening to crude laughter of his companions. "You're just begging for more."_

"_That's enough."_

_A soft voice ran through the dark cell like a thunder, stopping the man from hitting him again. The three men turned towards the source of the sound. Hands left Ace's shoulders immediately, bodies moved away, but he couldn't bother to look up just yet._

"_I will take it from here. All of you, dismissed."_

_Ace could hear them saluting, exiting the room and then sound of door closing, leaving him and his visitor alone._

"_At last, some new face." Ace coughed as he raised his head to look at the woman who just entered the cell. "I was getting bored of that three blockheads there."_

_The woman took a chair from the corner of the cell, one that wasn't there before, Ace noticed, and sat down gracefully, placing a small, black briefcase on the floor._

"_My name is quite irrelevant in these circumstances, but people of Impel Down call me Ophelia. I suspect we will be meeting each other quite a lot." The woman moved up her glasses up to her head, where they rested on her very short brown hair. She wore Marine uniform, but Ace could not see rank insignia on her at all. She was thin as a stick and seemed to have nice, long legs that Ace would certainly appreciate in different scenario._

"_It would be nice to have someone intelligent to talk to, for a change." He smirked, spitting out another mouthful of blood that ran from his tongue. _

"_Oh, don't get me wrong, number sixty-seven." She referred to him by the prison number he knew that was carved on the seastone cuff. "I'm afraid you will be the one doing all the talking."_

_With a tip of her boot she kicked the briefcase down, it's lid snapping open at the impact and revealing it's content to the beaten up pirate. Ace's eyes winded up a tiniest bit when his sight fell at the shiny steel instruments inside._

"_Now," Ophelia leaned in, taking one of the spotless tools and rolling the sleeves of her uniform up to her elbows. "Why don't we start with some basics, hmm? Like coordinates of Newgate's main ship?"_

_Ace did not take his eyes off from the item in her hand, seemingly harmless for now, but let out a quiet laugh at the question._

"_Why do I have this weird feeling you are going to turn out to be a sadistic little bitch?"_

"_Oh," She blinked, as if in confuse, while raising herself from the chair and closing the space between them. "That's probably because I will."_

- XV -

The first thing Smoker registered after waking up suddenly in the middle of the night was the fact that he was fucking freezing.

Blinking tiredly a couple of times he noticed the blankets were thrown away haphazardly and there was a thin strap of light from underneath his bathroom door. Even in his half-wake state he could put the puzzle pieces together. The slam of door followed by pitiful sound of retching was the reason he had woken up.

He did expect this to be true. Ace was walking around an hour after waking up from a week-long sleep. Even if he didn't snatch anything from the galley while Smoker was on watch it was obvious that his body wasn't ready for neither food nor any physical strain.

The sounds of unsuccessful attempts at vomiting stopped after a couple of minutes followed by the flush of toilet and running water, as the brat was probably trying to wash away the nasty taste of bile from his mouth. The light switch was flipped again and when Ace stepped out of the bathroom he was surprised to see the other man wide awake.

"Sorry." He mumbled with a sheepish grin. "Didn't mean to wake you up."

The younger man made his way back to the bed, supporting himself by using the wall and occasionally the furniture. Ace kept one arm wrapped around his torso; His ribs obviously bothered his while his stomach rebelled. Instead of unceremoniously throwing himself on the bed like he always used to, the pirate lowered himself carefully this time, rearranging himself until he found a comfortable position. Tucking in his head under Commodore's chin once again he breathed in deeply, as if the slightly smoky scent helped to calm his queasy stomach.

Sea stone sickness was never pretty, Smoker thought, as he reached for the blankets to once again tuck them both in. Depending on how strong the organism of Devil Fruit user was the effects could last for days. Ace's logia was not back yet, but Smoker knew that when the fire once again starting burning in the pirate's body, the rest of healing process would be a flash. For now, though, the carefully measured breaths warming the skin of his neck were the proof that the boy was not feeling well at all.

"How exactly did you get these?" One of Smoker's arms was wrapped loosely around Portgas's waist while he used the thumb of his free hand to brush across the three ragged scars decorating Ace's nose and cheek. They did not stand out much, but at such close distance he could see them quite clearly.

"These?" Ace muttered tiredly glad that he was warming up once more thanks to the Marine's body heat. "Blackbeard. Him and his damn rings. Those things actually tear the skin up on hit. Nasty trick, really." He ended with an amused snort.

Smoker's hand continued exploring, running over the shape of the scar, moving to pirate's jaw and tracing it up to the shell of his ear. Ace purred contently when those fingers moved to tangle in his hair, gently massaging his scalp and moved to rest at his neck.

Smoker frowned when Ace tensed a little and underneath his fingers he could feel the skin that was not smooth and soft, but scarred and irregular.

"And this?" Smoker asked when he moved back the wild black hair a bit and looked at the circular fresh scars.

Ace did not reply. Truth to be told, he didn't really need to. Smoker knew what Impel Down was like; what Marines in there could do to extract information. Ace was a valuable source of it, being in the position he was. He didn't have to reply and Smoker never asked about it again. It was the unspoken agreement they both have accepted.

Ace's own fingers were tracing the line of Smoker's jaw, but the action was a bit absent-minded, as if he was not thinking about what he was doing and his thoughts were far away. Smoker could only hope it was not back into the dark cells where violence and strength determined who lived and who died.

Deciding that a distraction would work well for now, Smoker moved his head just a little to take an unbandaged tip of one of the wandering fingers in between his lips and sucked at he digit lightly. The effect was almost immediate. Portgas's eyes focused on him and on what his mouth was doing. The Marine would have grinned if his mouth was not occupied at the moment, so instead he sucked a bit harder, teeth grazing over the calloused skin lightly. Ace didn't even bother to surpass a shiver that ran down his back and he moved his finger a little, to press over his bedmate's teeth and over the lapping tongue.

"Sly old man." Ace whispered as he pulled his hand back and closing his heavy-lidded eyes he lapped at Marine's lips, begging for a permission to enter. "Don't go easy on me. I will be back to annoying the shit out of you pretty soon."

One large hand that was resting on Ace's waist moved lower to clamp down at a perfect globe of pirate's ass, making the boy's breath hitch.

"I have no doubts about that, Portgas."

Ace claimed the Marine's lips hungrily, allowing his tongue to tangle with the other man's, exploring more of that pleasing warmth his mouth provided. His hands ran over the muscled chest; Smoker frowned at the weird dichotomy between warm fingertips and scratchy bandages. The Commodore placed both hands over Ace's ass, pressing their weights together and using the opportunity to grind his erection against Ace's thigh, trapped in between his own. Ace grunted into their kiss, thrusting down to mimic the action.

"Ah damn..." Ace broke the kiss when Smoker's hands slipped underneath the waistband of the boxers and stroked over the uncovered skin of his backside. He rested his forehead against Marine's chest while his fingers tangled in short gray hair. "You're trying to make me loose it first, aren't you?"

Smoker merely smirked moving his hands in hard, broad strokes, almost like a massage. He moved over that smooth skin, up to the waist that was not wrapped in bandages and then lightly over the covered injury. Ace wasn't staying idle through the whole time either. His fingers were working quickly at Smoker's zipper and soon one hand was free to slip in and grasp at Marine's already hard cock.

"Hmm." Ace purred as Smoker groaned and squeezed his eyes tightly to concentrate. Ace was confident with his moves and pressing just exactly where Smoker wanted him to, knowing from experience what made the Commodore lose control. The pirate vaguely thought that after all of this they would probably need to change his bandages again, but it left his mind quickly as his hand smeared precum all over Smoker's shaft as Smoker reached for his nightstand. He used that as an opportunity to get rid of the boxers and rearrange himself on the bed making himself comfortable, but when he laid on his side his ribs protested with sharp pain and Ace let out a hiss.

"Easy." Smoker was there almost spooning against his back as he brushed his hand lightly over the bandaged side and leaned in to nip at Ace's exposed neck.

Ace let out a frustrated sigh, waiting for the throbbing in his ribs to lessen before turning his head back slightly to nuzzle at his bedmate's hair. Smoker's mouth was plenty of distraction and there was barely even a sting of pain when two of the Commodore's slick fingers prodded at his entrance and then slipped slowly inside, stretching and caressing the tense muscles. Smoker's other hand found its way underneath Ace and around his waist, bringing them close together in a resemblance of a hug.

"Ah..." Ace gasped in pleasure, arching his neck back when the older man brushed his fingertips over his prostate and his legs parted a bit wider on their own. "Oh yeah... right there."

Smoker smirked from his spot between boy's neck and shoulder, licking at the sensitive skin. He complied for some time stroking exactly at the same area, his fingers rubbing in small circles as he listened to Ace's breathing that started to get heavier with each passing moment. His own need was demanding some attention, but for now he focused on what he was doing. Ace didn't stay still for very long though. One of his hands rested on the arm that Smoker had wrapped around him, while the other reached back and after some blind searching he closed his fingers around the Marine's aching cock and stroked.

Smoker closed his eyes and groaned into the other's shoulder; it definitely had been far too long between the two of them. Even before Ace's capture they hadn't shared a bed for couple of weeks and Smoker would never admit it, even to himself, he missed having the boy here with him; missed having him like this, so close, so needy and so delicious, writhing underneath his touch and begging for more.

"Fuck." Ace tugged a little harder trying to pull Smoker closer to him. "That's enough old man. Just get in me already."

This time Smoker obeyed the bossy tone and after a brief moment his fingers withdrew, leaving the boy empty and sighing in pent-up frustration. The Marine moved, making sure not to irritate the wound on Portgas's back and wrapped his free arm around the other's thigh, keeping him spread wide for what was about to come. The head of his cock nudged against pirate's opening, slick and stretched and oh-so-ready for him. He thrust slowly, sliding his cock against the waiting entrance, both to tease his bedmate and to cover himself up in some of that oil that he used to stretch that lovely piece of ass just a minute ago.

"Hmm..." Ace let out a content purr as he felt Smoker shift against him, so close he could feel the heat radiating from every part of his body. One of his hands still clung to the arm Smoker had wrapped around him, but the other moved to stroke at his own neglected cock, shuddering at his own touch.

The older man moved again changing the angle of his hips just a little, but enough for the head of his cock to enter the resisting opening. Ace gasped in surprise at the initial sting that penetration always brought. The Commodore entered his body slowly but surely, stopping only when he was buried to the hilt.

Smoker nearly growled into the boy's skin once again; Ace was always so hot, so deliciously warm inside and this hadn't changed even with his fire gone. He could feel Ace's unsteady breath washing over his forehead in small gasps as he mouthed the pirate's neck. The younger man was trying to get used to the burning feeling of fullness. He wasn't a virgin and Smoker's cock was not much larger then his own, but for Ace it always felt like he was being stretched almost to the point of impossibility. The boy was tight, still, no matter how many times they have done it and Smoker let out a restrained hiss as he shifted, arm no longer supporting the shivering thigh but instead grasping at Ace's bony hip that fitted perfectly into his large hand.

Smoker knew how to make boy scream; how to make him shift between flesh and the element that made his core, between the body of man and shape of fire. He knew how it felt to mingle his smoke with the burning sensation of flames, and how it felt to snuff away the fire that slipped away from Ace's control when he was no longer paying attention to anything else than the friction between them.

This, however, felt different. There was no familiar pull of logia right from the beginning, no vortex of fire sucking him in. It was just firm flesh against flesh, no raging elements, just solid bodies, wounds, bandages, and shaky fingers threading through his hair. It was as much human as it ever could be.

He moved tentatively at first, testing out the other's reactions. Ace breathed his name out in a tone that left no doubt that he was fine. Smoker kissed at the warm skin just below boy's ear and let himself slide almost all the way out, before thrusting in the heated body again. The slow, measured pace was enough. He wanted it to last and rushing things no matter how satisfying simply wouldn't do.

Ace was making all kinds of little noises that Smoker nearly learned by heart after all their previous encounters. He groped at the sharp hip a bit harder, shifting and searching for a different angle to his leisure thrusts. Knowing he found his goal when Ace jerked within his grasp and whimpered. Smoker's hand stopped him from moving and thrusting himself harder on his bedmate's cock. Turning his head towards the Commodore he intended to say something about being a controlling bastard, but Smoker shut him up with a kiss and another measured stroke against his prostate.

The heat was enough to make Smoker lose his own control. Their pace never really changed, shifting between a slow, deep thrust to more shallow ones, but nevertheless Smoker took his time. Ace was gasping, moaning out his name and slowly coming undone in his hands and he savored every second of it. Ace's heat, his hand that clawed gently at Smoker's arm, they way he squeezed his eyes shut and shivered when Smoker stroked him in just the right way... It had beentoo long.

Ace was breathing soft moans and curses against the Marine's mouth as time passed. Smoker's body behind him served as his anchor to reality as he slowly lost the connection to the world around him. Nothing mattered anymore; there was no annoyingly painful ache in his back, no more memories he wanted to erase - just passion, hard thrusts that reached the core of him, the friction of two bodies and the fire and lust shared in between them. He tugged harder at his own cock, desperate for the release.

But then Smoker's hand was there moving from his hip and batting his own palm away, fingers wrapping around Ace's dripping cock. A couple more hard strokes were enough and Ace was coming, half-screaming, half-gasping Smoker's name. The Commodore felt his fist filling with warm seed, dripping in between his fingers as he held Ace close, his other hand stroking over the quivering stomach letting the boy ride out his release.

After wiping his hand on the corner of the sheets and waiting for the tremors of Ace's body to lessen, Smoker moved again thrusting back into the other's heat, seeking his own completion. Ace only hummed sleepily, neck twisting so he could kiss his bedmate while his arm wrapped awkwardly around Smoker's hip urging him to go faster. Smoker complied letting his world turn into hot white waves of lust as he came, spilling deep inside the warm body pressed against him.

There was no other sound in the room except for panting and shaky breaths. The heated air around them started to slowly cool down as they lay there waiting for the world to stop spinning. Ace was nearly dozing off when he finally felt Smoker removing himself from his body, softened cock slipping out and groaning at the sensation of emptiness, so strange after what they have just done.

"That," Ace shifted carefully turning around to rest his head on Smoker's shoulder, his bandaged fingers tracing random patterns over the Commodore's chest "Was definitely not good for my recovery. Yamada will have your head for wearing his patient out."

There was a soft snort into his hair as Smoker's nose nuzzled at his hair.

"Yamada is the last thing I want to think about right now."

Ace laughed quietly, stretching out his hand to grasp at the tangled blankets and pulled them up over their bodies. His brows rose in surprise as Smoker reached out and grabbed his wrist gently, to avoid any pain.

"We should probably change those." He nodded at the bandages that were not so sterile anymore and not so neat.

"Hmm…later." Ace let his hand drop and snuggled against his bedmate until he tucked his head under Smoker's chin, the beginning of stubble scratching at his nose. "I'm tired junsho. You can't deny a patient his rest."

Ace could swear he heard another snort from the other man before he drifted away to sleep almost immediately.

- XVI -

_He woke up with fac__e mashed against the cold stone, his cheek in some dirt and something else he never wanted to name._

_Blinking a few times in confusion he was startled for a couple of seconds that the crazy bitch had made him blind because he could see nothing but darkness. The panic went away as his eyes started to grow accustomed to the dark surroundings._

_First thing he noticed was that he was not back in his tiny cell. No, this place was much, much bigger and even more encased in darkness than his old accommodation. The second thing he noticed was the fact he was not alone._

_There were shapes of people shifting around in the background. He could hear footsteps so light that he could of imagined them as well as he whispers in the dark._

_After that realization he tried to move, but the next sensation that came to him was pain. Hissing in anguish he pushed himself to all fours slowly, feeling every bone and muscle in his body aching in pain. A while ago he decided pain was good.. It was enough to reassure him that he was still alive and fighting. _

_The cuffs around his wrist and neck were thicker than before, making breathing and thinking difficult. Ace tried to remember all the questions that the woman named Ophelia had asked him. He couldn't recall most of them, but he could very well remember the pain that came every time he refused to answer or said something he was not suppose to. _

_Further thinking would have to wait because his body decided it was finally time to rebel against the always-present pressure of seastone and he heaved trying not to puke all over himself. He hadn't eaten much for the last couple of days and he spit up only water and bile, the taste of it bitter in his mouth. _

_Shifting away from the mess he had made, Ace tried to take a deeper breath to calm his stomach down, but it seemed impossible with the collar on his neck constricting and painful. He tried clawing the damn thing away, but it only made his fingers ache more as he clung on the metal, a couple of them already bleeding or dislocated after the treatment he received earlier._

"_It's no use." The voice in the darkness said next to him making him jump a little, hands shifting to his knife he had still strapped to his belt much to his own surprise. "You won't get it off even if you try, not without the key."_

_Ace focused on the shadows at the nearby wall that slowly started to resemble a shape of a tall, terribly thin man. A man who had been observing him for a good amount of time, it seemed._

"_Newbies." The man snarled__ waving his hand as in dismissal. "Always running around like chickens without heads once they feel the real seastone on them."_

"_Fuck off." Ace croaked out, voice rough after screaming from earlier. It was probably not the best idea to make enemies in this place, but at that point he was beyond caring._

_Much to his surprise the man roared with crude laughter, his voice echoing around the stone walls and down the corridors. After a couple of minutes Ace could see things more clearly._

"_Nice attitude kid. If it was someone else than me, you probably would have lost an eye by now__."_

_Ace pressed his hands over his temples trying to make the headache go away._

"_Where am I exactly?"_

"_This place has no name." The man moved from his place coming closer to the pirate. Ace now could see his tattered clothes, messy dark beard, and eyes that seemed a little too crazy for his taste. "Just like we don't have names. They call me number 34."_

_Ace just shook his head in resignation. Like hell he would ever start refereeing to himself by his cell name, even if he was about to rot in Impel Down._

"_But back then when I used to have a name," The man continued, as if to himself. "I was called Ginjiro. Formerly under Pirate Emperor Edward Newgate."_


	4. Chapter 4

**Fandom**: One Piece

**Pairing**: Smoker x Ace

**Rating**: NC-17 / M

**Warnings**: Language, violence and sex. All the good stuff.

**Summary**: Impel Down timeline; Smoker grudgingly closes off his sense of justice to save one man he shouldn't want to save.

**Disclaimer**: Characters from 'One Piece' series belong to Eiichiro Oda. I'm just borrowing them for fun, so don't sue, I don't have a penny. Original characters belong to me.

**Author's notes**: Only recently I have realized it had been a year since my last update. I mean... I knew it was a long time, but a year?

I had somewhat different view of the Impel Down and also a different ending for the story, but in the meanwhile we had actually learned about Impel Down thanks to the manga plot. I must say, I'm surprised I didn't miss the mark THAT much. Some of they key ideas in the plot were created before the Impel Down arc, so they needed some redesigning, which also threw me off the track.

Either way, here it is. I don't know when then next update is going to be (since I'm on my final year of uni and it's eating my free time) but for all of you who might be interested, I DO intend to finish this story.

* * *

- XVII -

Yamada was fuming.

Not that you could notice on a first glance, oh no. The quiet and gentle doctor never really showed any signs of anger. He chose instead to give you one of his long looks from underneath the massive, walrus-like eyebrows and sigh in resignation. It made you feel small and stupid, just like a little kid scorned by his grandparent while caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Smoker refused to look like an idiot in front of him.

So he went away under the pretense of looking at the maps and figuring out their next port. His stride out was dignified and measured, not like running away at all.

That left Yamada alone and that suited the elderly man just fine.

It amazed him how quickly Ace had woken up from the seastone coma. With the severe seastone burns that he had and the extended exposure to the cursed metal Yamada suspected that the young man wouldn't be up and around to create his usual mayhem any time soon. Instead he found out the boy awake and then passed out again after indulging in some... night activities with the Commodore.

Yamada snickered under his moustache. He could still see the quite not-there shame on his captain's face when he roughly explained what had happened to the boy that caused him to be the patient of the infirmary once more. Still, the old man could understand the need for closeness from both parties. While Yamada neither approved nor disapproved the shaky relationship that captain and the pirate had, never did he, or any member of the crew actually considered it as treason. Why the lax approach, he couldn't really tell, but one thing he knew for sure: Smoker's men were loyal to the death and if Smoker hadn't seen Ace-san as a danger, then they were willing to trust his judgment.

Then everything happened and the last couple of months weren't exactly easy on both of them. Smoker's quest for justice was shaken and to say that the captain had not been in good mood was a grave understatement.

And Ace-san…Yamada knew what was going on down in Impel Down's cells of hell levels. He knew, but chose not to dwell on it because he had a patient to think about and needed to stay focused. So yes, he could understand that the need to touch and the craving for personal contact was strong enough to dim the reasoning of two usually level-headed men.

That, plus a huge amount of hormones; with that thought the doctor smirked again to himself and turned to check on his patient.

Ace-san was a pitiful sight indeed; ribs poking out where his chest wasn't bound by thick bandages, matted and dull hair, the colorful set of bruises covering large patches of skin. And of course, there was the slash running through his upper back.

He set his tools on the table next to him and unwound the wrappings around the young man's torso. His quite keen sense of smell was assaulted with the scent of sickness and misery. The skin around the wound was hot to the touch, as well as young man's forehead. The doctor frowned, wondering how fast the infection would spread if he were to have been left alone in Impel Down any longer. Marines didn't really supply medical attention to those of the lower levels of prison, so chances were that he wouldn't even had live to his own execution.

Yamada soaked the cut in disinfectant solution, sterilized his tools and proceeded with clearing the cut from puss and congealed blood, swiping the newly-uncovered patches of healthy tissue with more disinfectant. Whatever gods were up there that might possibly have the boy under their protection, he thanked them that the young pirate was unconscious. He didn't really want to pump his body with more sedatives until he could get more antibiotics to fight off the infection.

"Do you need anything, sir?" His assistant poked his head through the door a couple of minutes later. Yamada had dismissed the boy when Smoker arrived half an hour ago with the feverish pirate.

"When will we hit the next port?" The metal tools rattled in their basin as Yamada exchanged them for a similar newly sterilized set and another portion of clear solution, not polluted by blood and puss.

"In about two hours, sir."

"Good," Yamada nodded. "When we get there, go to the shore and get me some antibiotics. Really strong ones. I'll have a list ready for you by then."

Yamada listened to the Marine leave and looked back at the unconscious boy, who seemed to be frowning even now, as if something bothered him. Making sure the cut was as clean as it could be at the moment he started the slow and gruesome task of stitching the boy up.

The slash had ragged edges, which made his job more tedious. Once again he wondered what it was caused by. His best guess was a shredded glass had dealt damage in random patterns and tore the skin instead of slicing it. The cut was pretty deep and he didn't know if it was made by accident or on purpose, but it ran diagonally between boy's shoulder blades, splitting the image of the grinning Whitebeard in almost two perfect halves.

- XVIII -

"_What did you just say?"_

_Ace shook his head to clear up the confusion and the dark spots dancing at the edge of his vision, but in the hindsight it wasn't a good idea, since it only made his nausea stronger. The man only stared at him with blank eyes._

"_You served under Wh--- Under Edward Newgate?"_

_The man who called himself number 34 merely shrugged, fixing his dead stare onto the wall beside him, like he expected to find something interesting. Ace had a weird feeling not everything was alright with the convict._

"_All of us used to be famous, or we belonged to someone who could strike fear even in Marines," His gaze slowly slid down the wall and back to Ace's crumpled body. "I'm guessing you had your share of fame, otherwise you wouldn't be here on this level of hell. Or maybe they're just waiting for you to sing for them," Ginjiro laughed, turning to leave, but Ace's voice stopped him._

"_How long have you been here?"_

_The inmate turned back once again, his face thoughtful and a little lost. Ace raised himself to his wobbly knees, biting back the bile that still burned in his throat. Standing up actually helped a little, even if it required strength Ace didn't have at the time._

_He __hadn't recognized the man's name, not even from the tales of fallen comrades he sometimes heard from pirates who had served under his captain longer then he had. If Ginjiro was here long enough to not know or forget both Whitebeard's nickname and not recognize his mark upon his back, then he might have been completely fucked._

"_Too long,__" Ginjiro replied, scrubbing his face tiredly with a withered palm. "The bastard never tried to break me out. Even after so many years, he never gave a damn about his first mate."_

- XIX -

Something wet passed on his face and Ace's forehead scrunched in thought, as he tried to recognize the feeling. Then it happened for the second time and water trickled down his cheek and neck and he snapped his eyes open, grabbing the arm that passed over his face.

_--- hands squeezing his shoulders, his back and shoulder blades digging into harsh stone underneath and he couldn't even scream, he was gasping for breath and dying and ---_

"Ace-san?"

His eyes focused and he moved his panicked gaze towards his own hand, where it squeezed Yamada's wrinkled wrist so hard Ace could see his knuckles turned white. Smoker was already moving across the room towards him as Ace finally snapped out of it. With a surprised gasp he released the elderly man as if his skin burned.

_--- __the black cloth over his face and he could see nothing, hear nothing, but his own lack of breathing and the silent scream and unforgivable murmur of water everywhere around him ---_

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Pulling the same stunt all over again?" Smoker's voice was angry and a little disturbed and Ace cringed. He pulled his hand closer towards him, cradling it against his chest almost protectively.

"It's ok, Smoker-san. I'm okay. I think I might have startled Ace-san from his sleep," Yamada interjected, shrugging the incident off like nothing had happened, even though all three men could see the angry red print over his paper-thin skin where the pirate's fingers grabbed him.

"I'm--- I'm sorry, I just---"

_--- the logical__ part of his brain died a long time ago and all that was left was his will to survive, but he couldn't do it, not when water closed around him, when it filled his lungs and he couldn't breathe and finally he screamed even though there couldn't be any air in his lungs, not anymore, not after ---_

"If you're going to be sick you better tell me now, so I can grab a basin for you to puke into," Yamada's voice asked light and teasing, but Smoker could hear the worry underlining it.

"No, I'm fine," Ace took a shaky breath and closed his eyes, one bandaged hand wiping away the water from his face. He could not stand to feel it, not right now.

"Let me just check to see if you've pulled out any stitching," Yamada asked as he helped Ace to turn partially on his side, peeling away the edge of the bandage and murmuring in a pleased tone once he found his work unspoiled. "I am going to get you some antibiotics. I really don't like this fever of yours."

Smoker watched Yamada putter around his small infirmary for a while and said nothing. Ace kept his eyes closed, head turned towards the wall and it wasn't the first time Smoker thought that Ace looked way younger then he actually was.

"Care to tell me what the hell that was about?" Smoker finally asked, sitting heavily on the edge of the bed once Yamada was out of sight. He felt tired, like he hadn't slept for two days, which wasn't entirely false. One could only get so much sleep while being woken up three times during the night with a feverish and unconscious man in his bed.

Ace cleared his throat afraid his voice might fail him and slowly shook his head.

"It's nothing. The water just startled me," He passed his hand over his face again, subconsciously making sure it was dry.

"The _water_ startled you."

_--- he was trashing, water pouring down his nose and mouth and into his lungs, hands holding his arms and chest pushed him harder into the ground and he tried kicking out but his legs were firmly bound and ---_

"Yeah," The pirate said as he still refused to look the man in the eye. "Yeah, it did."

Smoker did not like the haunted look the young man had now. Something urged Ace enough to go after Yamada again, fortunately this time he snapped out of it quickly enough before he could do any damage. Smoker swore he could actually hear Yamada's bones gritting together in his grip, yet the elderly man said nothing.

Something – or someone – had conditioned Ace hard enough that he was lashing out in self defense at the slightest of touches. Something made him snap at the feel of the washcloth that the doctor used to cool his fever down, over his face, He could blame it on the delirious sickness, but now that Ace was almost fully aware of his surroundings that deadly startled look still hadn't left his face.

The Marine remembered that look. He had seen a flash of it just before the boy had entered the shower in his private cabin, the night before. Smoker had taken the shaking and shivering as a sign of fatigue. The hiss that Ace released when he stepped under the spray, he blamed on the wounded back.

Smoker had an uneasy feeling those were not just because of pain and exhaustion.

"What happened?" He asked voice rough, but not angry nor demanding.

"I told you, the water---"

"What happened in Impel Down?"

Ace tensed as a brief flash of panic betrayed what he couldn't say out loud. He finally turned his gaze to the other man, not replying, just looking him in the eye and pleading without words to let him do this at his own pace.

Ace didn't say anything he didn't want to say. Smoker wouldn't push.

At least not until he knew the boy would not break.

- XX -

_He had found his niche._

_Really, it was only a narrow spot between the cold, damp wall and one of the larger rocks, but it was good enough for him. Ace was guarded from three sides; nothing could approach him without him seeing it first. He had a good view of the cell and the single door that he was pushed through before. His back was cramping and he could swear he was frozen solid, but the advantages of the rocky shelter won over the comforts. _

_It had been three days and most of the time Ace remained in that position, unwilling to move except for the slight changing of angles to temporarily relieve his aching muscles. He held his knife close and waited._

_Time was non-existent in this place. The only measure of it was provided by the Marines themselves who brought in the food rations. Ace calculated that they couldn't be more then twelve hours apart, so he used that to define time and not go insane. _

_The first time, the food rations were dumped in the middle of the room and he had missed his chance and all of it was taken by other prisoners. There was no equality here; what you could get your hands on AND keep with you was yours. Ace knew that in this world of darkness primal instincts of survival were more valuable than keeping one's dignity._

_Hell, he was all for dignity. He was honorable and loyal and did not even cheat that much while he played cards._

_Dignity was good, but not when you hadn't eaten for two days and you could almost feel your stomach trying to digest itself from the hunger. _

_So when the next feeding time came he did not hesitate to fight for his less than fair share._

_Once or twice a day he could __saw armed Marines coming in taking one of the prisoners away and disappearing for hours. The first time Ace saw that, he was left thinking four hours, wondering what in the world happened, only to see the man return much later. Thrown on the ground bloody and broken like a rag doll, other prisoners using his absence to take away any possessions the man had, even if it came down to a piece of moldy bread._

_When they came for him he wasn't exactly surprised. _

_Ac__e lashed out at one of them when they approached close enough, managing to swipe in and cut the man's leg quite deeply. The Marine fell down cursing through the pain and Ace strained his aching muscles to strike again, like a predator aiming for the prey's soft underbelly._

_He never got his chance. A shot ran though the hall of the cell and he dropped the knife, swaggering in place. Reaching for the dart that cut deep into his thigh he tore it out, but the sedative was working quickly. Ace stumbled, reaching out to support himself on the nearby wall, but a punch sent him spiraling to the ground._

"_Oh, they're going to make you sing," Through the haze of the drug he could hear Ginjiro's sing-song voice, happy like a little kid and then a somewhat insane cackle. "On pins and needles, until you bleed. Into the light, just to paint the walls red. How crude."_

_Ace thought that being close__d in Impel Down was the worst thing that could happen to a pirate. His last thought before unconsciousness welcomed him was that being closed in prison along with the insane former mate of your own captain and equally mad and sadistic bitch for an interrogator must have been some kind of joke he didn't quite get._


	5. Chapter 5

**Fandom**: One Piece

**Pairing**: Smoker x Ace

**Rating**: NC-17 / M

**Warnings**: Language, violence and sex. All the good stuff.

**Summary**: Impel Down timeline; Smoker grudgingly closes off his sense of justice to save one man he shouldn't want to save.

**Disclaimer**: Characters from 'One Piece' series belong to Eiichiro Oda. I'm just borrowing them for fun, so don't sue, I don't have a penny. Original characters belong to me.

**Author's notes**: Well, at least this update came out quicker then last one I do plan to have at least one more chapter done during Christmas break, but I can't promise anything.

There are a couple of changes worth mentioning. I got the events in the overall storyline figured out and the whole fic will close in 9 chapters. It's possible that the last one will be a short epilogue; it's still unknown at this point. I have decided to drop the Roman number system for marking the timelines in chapters, as it proved to be confusing for some people. Regular separating line was left in their place. **The general rule still exists **– parts in _Italics_ are flashbacks and memories.

I just wanted to add that I really appreciate every single review I get – it really makes me want to write faster. Even if I don't always reply to every single one.

And I can never send enough thanks to devlinnreiko, for being made of awesome and finishing this beta before Christmas.

There is an illustration done by me for this chapter. You can find it in my Livejournal (link in profile). It's called "A reminder of fire) and it's dated 07 September 2008 (or you may look by browsing tags).

This may seem a little short. Incoming chapter 6 is going to be one of the longest in the whole fic.

* * *

"Is he going to be alright?"

Yamada looked at the young ensign's face and noticed she was casting an unsure glance towards the pirate resting in the infirmary bunk. He quickly returned back to his task, checking the muscles on woman's shoulder and causing her to hiss when his hands applied too much pressure. It wasn't a very rare occurrence for the swordswoman to get injured while training with her sword.

"Honestly, Tashigi-san?" The doctor said as he raised her arm slightly, testing the range of motion, pleased to notice she didn't break any bones. "I don't know. He seems to be healing fine considering the extent of his injuries."

Yamada circled Tashigi, coming behind her as she sat on the infirmary chair and pressed over the muscles in her shoulder blade.

"But?"

The elderly man sighed; he really shouldn't be surprised that the young officer was more interested in the pirate's status than her own.

"Ace-san seems to be doing fine, but I don't believe he's recovered yet from the trauma that Impel Down can inflict on its prisoners. He did, after all, have moments where he couldn't recognize either of us, captain included."

She just nodded, her gaze stuck on the figure in the bed. Ace usually slept soundly – she noticed that much from his frequent narcolepsy episodes, but here he definitely looked uncomfortable and even more tired than when they had escorted him from the prison. His head would turn slightly one way and the other from time to time, or his hands twitched under the mass of white bandages that looked so out of place. Tashigi didn't really have the opportunity to talk to the pirate since he had woken up and she had to admit, she did miss the conversations they used to have. Of course, eventually they ended up with Ace teasing her mercilessly and that resulted in her turning the lovely shade of burgundy. But, still…

"As for your injuries, Tashigi-san," Yamada rummaged through one of the countless shelves he had in his infirmary, finally fishing out the well-used jar of cooling salve "It seems you only pulled the muscle in your shoulder really hard, so I suggest taking it easy for the next week or so. I believe you know how to apply this salve."

Of course she did, it wasn't exactly a secret that she was a big klutz.

A soft sound of muffled pain reached her ears, coming from the occupied bed in the corner. Ace apparently tried to switch to lying on his side, but the sore ribs refused to cooperate. Even in pain, the boy still did not wake up.

She didn't exactly know what happened in Impel Down. She was one of the small groups of fortunate Marines who did not have to be stationed at the prison, unlike her Captain. But even without the first-hand knowledge the tales she had heard and the glimpse of hell she saw when they were pulling Ace out… that alone was enough to give Tashigi a pretty good idea about what was happening in that place. Pain and fear, fighting for life, and Marine-induced torture- scars on Ace's body were proof enough.

* * *

_Ace__ didn't quite remember the moment when he was brought back into the cells._

_The first sensation that broke through the haze of unconsciousness, confusion, and pain was someone else's hands trying to pry off the knife pouch he still had strapped to his thigh._

_His first thought was a silent wonder that the Marines still left him with a potentially dangerous weapon, which didn't really make much sense._

_There was no second thought as he grabbed the unknown limb, his other hand shooting out for the said knife before it was stolen from him._

_Later on he remembered he crawled back to his niche in the rock wall, for unknown reasons still unoccupied even after all the time he was gone. How long he was away he couldn't tell; there were too many episodes during which everything faded to black and he wasn't aware of what was going on around him. He suspected he wasn't out of it for very long – she definitely wouldn't let him._

_The pain faded into the background of his mind as he tried to isolate it, close it off somewhere where it wouldn't bother him. Ace was pretty sure one of his ribs was cracked after the first beating that Ophelia's grunts had done. He was breathing shallowly, hoping not to jar his ribs with sudden movement or deeper breath. Strangely, he could feel everything around him – the roughness of rock scraping his legs and back, the chilled air that covered his skin in goose bumps. His fingers needed to be set, Ace noticed absent-mindedly, as he calculated the damage. He would take care of that issue in a moment._

_He curled more into himself, his back molded to the damp wall – its cool surface brought some relief to the angry red welts on his back that he knew would bloom into ugly bruises by the morning. Whenever that would come._

_It was not like he was completely unfamiliar with torture. During those __first few years he had been sailing by himself, then with Whitebeard, there were times where their enemies managed to get their hands on him. He knew the sensation of being restrained in seastone cuffs, of being beaten, half-drowned or even flogged. But this... this was different. During the previous, painful episodes there was always a small, confident voice in his mind telling him that later on his fire would heal him, eradicate the signs of cruelty from his body and comfort him with its warmth. Ace knew that later, when his men – _Whitebeard's men_ – would save his hide, he would let his fire reign free and unbounded; turning the men who did him wrong into ash left by its wake._

_But now, now it was different.__ With regular seastone cuffs he could still feel his logia, curled up deep inside him and dormant, like a tiny flickering flame, but never disappearing. It was a comforting feeling, knowing that the power that made his being was with him always, even if he was temporarily unable to use it. But under the heavy touch of pure seastone shackles, under the mass of sea that pressured the prison walls... _

_Ace__ didn't feel anything._

_The fire coiling deep in his chest and belly was extinguished. He tried to reach in deeper, seeking the familiar source of comfort, looking for it like for a long lost friend. Ace couldn't find anything. There was no spark of what made him who he was, that defined his life for a good couple of years now. He got so used to it, so dependant on its presence that from the moment his strength was cut off he felt so terribly lost. Lost and confused and empty. The lack of his logia made him feel nauseous by the very idea of its absence._

_The Marines who came later with food rations were not even surprised at seeing a dead body in the small pool of blood before they sent for someone to clean it up._

_Ace was shaking. He was a pirate; it was not uncommon for him to take a life when he needed to, especially in self-defense. What scared him more was the fact he did not remember the moment of kill._

_He shook his head, trying to get rid of the offending thoughts, muffling a hiss when the movement resulted in pain blossoming behind his eyes. Grabbing the dislocated fingers with his other hand he pulled, setting the joints back into place. Agony rushed through his palm but he did not dare to scream, as that would alarm the other prisoners._

_Wounded predators never survived long__._

* * *

Smoker shivered in the chilled air of his cabin, wishing they would finally leave the string of islands that brought in cold air and shorter days, as the daylight faded quickly into darkness. He rubbed his fingers briefly together to add some temporary warmth, his eyes focused on the newspaper article he was reading.

Ever since leaving Impel Down they had been sailing along the archipelago of winter and autumn islands; many of Smoker's men complained about the temperature and Yamada had been busy with colds and frostbites, no matter how many times he lectured the crew members about necessary layers of clothing and not staying on deck for the whole night. Smoker suspected some of them just refused to learn on the principle.

Ace still slept for most of the time. Sometimes he would wander around the ship with no real goal; other times he devastated the galley, much to Smoker's cook horror, but mostly he could be seen in infirmary bunk or Smoker's own bed, curled up into himself for protection against the cold as much as his ribs allowed him. His back had started to heal, with Yamada checking up for the return of infection every day, but so far the boy seemed to be fortunate enough not to fall into relapse. His logia hadn't come back yet, which disturbed the Commodore. Without it, Ace was left weak and the boy would tear him a new one if he ever heard that thought. Without fire Ace's body didn't heal quickly enough and didn't have the strength to fight off the remaining effects of seastone coma. That, in turn, had left him without real energy to do anything else then rest, and the cycle repeated itself. Smoker didn't exactly know of any devil fruit user who had lost his or her power for longer than a week; he refused to worry, since that would bring more thoughts and questions he really didn't want to answer.

Smoker had gotten used to silence when the boy was around, which was unthinkable a few months ago. He often caught himself staring at the pirate from his desk when he was fighting an unholy amount of paperwork that his ensign dumped on him. Ace, in the clothes Tashigi had dug up somewhere for him, had been sleeping in his bed. Portgas had better and worse nights and now Smoker could recognize them from first glance. The good nights offered healthy rest and dreamless sleep. The bad ones, however...

Smoker looked up from his paper when a small distressed sound reached his ears. Ace looked uncomfortable in his sleep; his expression strained and shoulders tense, bandaged hands sometimes twitching upon where he curled them over his stomach. The setting sun was illuminating the cabin with soft, orange glow that in any other time wouldn't bother him at all. But during these nights, these long nights haunted with nightmares, the setting sun served only as a reminder of what he had lost and not yet recovered.

Ace dreamed of fire.

Leaving his paper on the desk, Smoker reached the bed and sat down on the edge. Reaching for the pirate, he lightly grasped one shivering shoulder and gently shook the boy, wary of the bruises and broken ribs.

"Wake up, kid."

At first he thought Ace didn't hear him, but then his eyes snapped open as the pirate was jerked back into reality from whatever was haunting his dreams. Smoker expected the boy to lash out at him and he tensed, all his senses focused on repelling the incoming involuntary attack.

Nothing happened. Ace's eyes didn't seem to notice what was around him for couple of seconds, but then he merely rubbed his face with one bandaged hand and sighed heavily, eyelids closing yet again.

"Well, I guess you can call that a progress," Smoker relaxed when the blow he expected didn't come, his hand still resting on Ace's shoulder. He didn't miss the way the pirate's frame shivered underneath his palm, or how the shaky breath Ace released sounded somewhat like a concealed sob.

"And here I thought you didn't mind a little rough play in bed, junsho," Ace smirked, which looked more then a little forced, but the older man didn't call him on it.

Maybe he did, once. He wasn't so sure these days.

Without further comment, Smoker pushed the boy lightly to make him scoot over from his warmed-up spot in the bed, deciding that the rest of the papers could wait till next morning. He slipped under the covers, his body melding with Ace's, wide chest to scarred back.

"My, junsho, I always knew you were a cuddler, just afraid of loosing that manly man image."

That joke sounded more natural then the forced smile from just a minute ago, so Smoker didn't hesitate to let out an irritated sigh.

"I'm cold and you're hogging all the covers, idiot," Smoker wrapped an arm around the slimmer waist, his fingers resting against warm bandages, body pressing into the thin frame of the pirate. These days Ace was all angles and bony knees and hands, weeks of semi-starvation taking a toll on his usually muscular silhouette. Sleepily, Smoker thought he might have to force more food into the boy in next few days. "Go back to sleep."

* * *

"_Tell me, number sixty-seven__," Ophelia crouched next to him as he shivered from the freezing water that one of her grunts threw at him to wake him up. His body was doubled over so much that he could rest his forehead on the dirty stone floor, wrist still shackled to the wall behind him. "You had your logia for how long now?"_

_He said nothing, spitting out the small amount of the water that he almost inhaled. _

"_It's been a couple of years, hasn't it?" His interrogator didn't mind answering the questions herself. Ace didn't know why she bothered to ask in the first place, as if she already knew the outcome. "I wonder how does it feel to suddenly be left without that power, hmm?"_

"_It's fucking fantastic, thanks for asking."_

"_Yes, I can't say I didn't expect that answer. Do you miss it? Your fire?" _

_She straightened up again, taking a sip of the amber-colored liquid she had brought in when she arrived at the cell. Ace would be able to literally kill for some of that whiskey, just to recall other taste than moldy bread and copper in his mouth, neither of the flavors very appealing. He could kill for it, but he would not beg._

"_It had its perks."_

"_I bet it did. Fire is such __a rare gift, number sixty-seven," She placed the glass back on the cell's small table, filling half of it again with alcohol. "Admiral Akainu, who can control magma and flaming rocks; your comrade, Marco the Phoenix. Who knows how many more are out there, that can use some form of it. But you, you are different." _

_Ace finally raised himself up from his slouched position, resting his back against the cold wall and looking at her. Her gaze was curious and scheming. That was never a good sign._

"_You have the unique ability to _become_ fire, to turn yourself into it and just be a force of nature. You will hold that power until the day you die, and even then who knows how many years will pass before Mera Mera no Mi surfaces again."_

"_And here I thought you like me just for my charming personality."_

_She simply looked back at him, saying nothing. After few seconds of the staring contest she shifted he gaze towards a bulky Marine waiting for her orders and gave him a quick nod. He moved fast, or maybe it was Ace who was too tired to follow, but next thing he knew there were fingers digging into his jaw, pressing against the joints and prying his mouth open. Ace tried to fight back, but a fist to the ribs from the other Marine was enough to make him still for few moments. It was enough time for her to approach and pour the drink into his mouth. With his jaw snapped closed once again he could feel the burning warmth of the drink going town his throat and warming him up from the inside._

"_I've seen you looking at the bottle for better part of the evening; figured you could use a drink."_

"_Well, you could have just offered. It's not nice to turn down__ a lady's offer."_

"_But it wouldn't be that much fu__n, wouldn't it?"_

_Ophelia knocked on the door to the cell and Ace half-expected her to go and leave him for the grunts, who would take them back to main cell. He was in her interrogation cell enough times __already to know they would probably give him another round of beating, but that would be all for the day. However, she didn't leave; just pushed the door open and let in two other Marines Ace didn't know. They placed something on the floor that he couldn't see yet and left. Ophelia was smiling and by then Ace knew he was royally fucked. _

"_You said you miss your logia. Well, I have good news for you. I plan on giving you some of that heat back," She motioned at the item and her grunts brought it in closer._

"_Y__ou've got to be fucking kidding me," Ace knew it wasn't a good thing to show fear, but even he had his limits. This – this was definitely beyond said limits. Involuntary, he tried to push himself further into the wall, but the stone against his back was unyielding. _

"_Hold him down."_

_This time Ace did fight back, as if he had an escape route from the prison. Anything was good enough to delay what was about to happen next. The Marines had him shackled, twisting his arms so that his cheek was pressed hard against the stone floor again, arms immobilized by the two men at his side. _

"_I would say this shouldn't hurt, you being Mera Mera user," She used a piece of thick cloth to take the handle of a red-hot poker from the burning coals. "But who am I kidding. This is going to hurt. A lot."_

_Ace said nothing, eyeing the end of metal rod, heated up so much it turned white. _

"_Unless, of course, you give me what I want. And I want Moby Dick's coordinates, number sixty-seven."_

_Ace swallowed once, twice, thinking about his captain. Wondering and weighing his options. He knew perfectly well Whitebeard would never hold it against him if he told what he knew. Not in these circumstances. Not with this psychotic bitch who found way too much pleasure in what she was doing. His captain was like a father to him and in Ace's mind there never was any shadow of doubt that he would understand. _

_He blinked hard again, focusing his eyes on the image of __a woman waiting for his answer. _

"_Go to hell."_

_Ophelia merely shrugged, crouched next to him and yanked his hair back, exposing the skin of his neck, holding the burning poker above it. He could feel the scorching heat even without the metal touching him._

"_In case you haven't already noticed, you already _are_ in hell."_

_Ophelia pushed the iron down._

_Ace screamed._


End file.
